State Bank of India

"State Bank of India will take suitable precautions to avoid possible U.S. sanctions due to any dealings with the blacklisted Hamburg-based European-Iranian Trade Bank AG, a senior Indian finance ministry official said Wednesday. The official didn't say what precautions SBI would take to avoid any potential U.S. action. 'We can look at making the temporary arrangement more permanent if it works out. An Indian delegation will be visiting Tehran soon to discuss the issue,' he said. The official was responding to concerns about a temporary channel just opened by New Delhi and Tehran for oil-related transactions for January crude. Under the arrangement, described Tuesday by another senior Indian official, Indian oil companies will open accounts with state-run SBI, which will in turn deposit the payments for Iranian crude with European-Iranian Trade Bank, or EIH Bank." (Wall Street Journal, "India Bank Seeks Way to Avoid Iran Sanctions," 1/6/11)